Blog
Welcome to the Busybird blog, where you can find helpful articles, updates, industry news and more. Make sure you stay up to date by signing up to our newsletter below.
Voice.
January 22, 2013So what is ‘voice’ in writing?
Google it and you’ll find any number of definitions.
This is what Wikipedia has to say:
-
The writer’s voice is the individual writing style of an author, a combination of idiotypical usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works).1
From Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent:
-
So what is it? To me, your writer’s voice is the expression of YOU on the page. It’s that simple—and that complicated. Your voice is all about honesty. It’s the unfettered, non-derivative, unique conglomeration of your thoughts, feelings, passions, dreams, beliefs, fears and attitudes, coming through in every word you write.
Voice is all about your originality and having the courage to express it.2
From The Kill Zone:
-
In a similar manner, when it comes to defining the writer’s voice, it can be the combination of the author’s attitude, personality and character; the writer’s style that conveys the story. It’s called the writer’s voice. Voice is the persona of the story as interpreted by the reader.3
It’s all correct. And there’s any number of variations on the definition.
Recently, I’ve had discussions with authors who’ve said to me their voice changes depending on what story their writing. I don’t buy that.
For me, (the definition of) voice can be diluted further.
When I’m reading a story, I hear the narration in my head. It’s not my actual voice I hear. Or my standard inner monologue of thoughts. It’s something distinctive to that author. That author might diversify in what they’re writing – go from satire to contemporary drama to historical romance to erotica to sci-fi – but their voice always shines through, a sine wave that is unique to them, just as bands and artists have distinctive sounds.
Turn on the radio, for example, and even if you don’t recognise the song, you can usually identify it either by the sound of the vocals and/or the music. Even when artists try something difficult – e.g. go from rock to something jazzier – the sound is still them at heart.
Think about the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Listen to the vocal range displayed there by Freddie Mercury and the other members of Queen. But it’s all still Queen, regardless how many highs and lows they hit, how often the song varies from ballad to melody to rock.
Voice is something that I really look for in a story.
Sometimes, when I’m reading, I feel like the author has tried to aggrandise their prose, as if (they feel) that will make them sound impressive. When I was young, I used to try something similar, consulting the Thesaurus for alternatives that might astound the reader and show them how smart I was. Others I read might try to be shocking, as if (they believe) their temerity will titillate and/or awe me. There are any number of ways writing can be untrue to its author.
This doesn’t mean that voice has to be simple. It just has to be you.
It can take a long time to discover your voice. I think it took me twenty years. Usually it comes through lots of writing, lots of experimentations, lots of trial and even more error.
But as you write, think about how you tell your story. Think about how you would tell it, if somebody asked you to speak it to them. Would you dress it up or just be straightforward, be true to yourself as a person?
One final way to think about it: if we both went to the bank and the bank was robbed, we would both relay the experience differently, because we’re unique and our minds, the way we interpret and process events, differs. Even if we tried telling this story a variety of different ways (e.g. humourously, dramatically, experimentally, satirically) or in different styles (e.g. chronologically, in flashback, disjointedly, backwards) our voice would still be the spine of our narrative.
Ultimately, voice is about being true to yourself, regardless of what we write.
LZ.
1. Writer’s Voice – Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer%27s_voice. Accessed 20 January 2013.
2. Rachelle Gardner – http://www.rachellegardner.com/2010/07/what-is-writers-voice/. Accessed 20 January 2013.
3. The Kill Zone – http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/what-is-writers-voice.html#.UPtBCmd5eSo. Accessed 20 January 2013.
Stories everywhere
January 15, 2013
By simply living we are creating our own story. Much of it will be boring to recount when we come to the end of it but there will also be thoughts, feelings, things learned and interesting events that are worth leaving behind. So how can we work out what to tell and what to leave out?
I don’t know about you but I’m not really interested in what you had for breakfast or the fact that you are drinking a coffee at a local cafe as so many people might post on Facebook. But others might be. That’s the thing. It’s all subjective. That whole one man’s trash is another man’s treasure thing.
That means that you shouldn’t tell a story that you think other people will enjoy. You should tell a story that you enjoy because there’s bound to be another person who also likes it. The clue is to make the way you tell it interesting. The devil is in the details (apologies for cliche). So to be a good storyteller, you need to give it a good angle. You need to have your eyes open to the world and suck up every ounce of information. Just be observant. Go people watching. Go smell roses. Write down anything that spikes your interest. See shapes in the clouds.
Outside the Page – Between Giants
January 6, 2013Hi All,
Just a quick one tonight on the latest from our esteemed poetry editor, Ashley Capes.
The latest poetry collection from Ashley, called Between Giants, is currently available from Ginninderra Press. Ashley’s poetry is always a delight – check out the collection on the publisher’s website here, and say hi to Ash at his blog here if you feel so inclined (he’s just put up a review of Between Giants by Mark William Jackson, which you can zip straight to here if you’re interested).
Remember, I want to hear if there’s anything going on that might have slipped under my radar!
Beau Hillier | Editor, pageseventeen
Writing Competition
December 29, 2012
It’s this nice quiet time of year when the Christmas silly season is over and there is a bit of down time to give to your writing. So why not dust off some of those stories you’ve been working on, polish them up a bit and sent them in to our [untitled] short story competition.
Here’s some things to think about sending us your writing a short story(s):
Is the story engaging?
Have you proof read it to make sure it reads well?
Have you checked the submission guidelines to make sure you tick all the requirements?
On the Twelfth Day pre-Christmas, this author said to me … (Abriana Jette)
December 24, 2012Nearly two weeks worth of reflections later and here we are, on Christmas Eve. The last reflection here is from NYC-based poet Abriana Jette, on her poem ‘If You See Something, Say Something’.
Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay safe and happy this Christmas and you’ll hear from me again soon enough.
Beau Hillier | Editor, page seventeen
***
The motto of New York City’s Transit Authority is meant to serve as a warning: don’t assume the package was left beneath the seat on accident; stay aware of your surroundings; if you see something, say something. I took the sound advice seriously, I said what I saw.
The miraculous aspect of a late night Coney Island bound Q-train ride is its blending of the ordinary with the extraordinary, the real tangled with the fantastic. The nun, lost in her own melody, became my source of vulnerability, I wanted her presence to be felt like a soft hum; I wanted her faith to be contagious. The decision to end the poem on a ‘Shh’ was a risk, the hush contradictory to the city’s appeal, but for locals, for us everyday commuters, a quiet train ride can often be a soothing source of calm, of peace.
‘If You See Something, Say Something’ is what I believe to be a found poem, meaning I got on the train, sat down, looked around, and found poetry.
***
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Abriana Jette earned an M.F.A. from Boston University, and an M.A. from Hofstra University. She is a poet and educator, splitting her time between teaching at the College of Staten and Island and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and finishing her first collection of poetry, Pink Houses.